MINNEAPOLIS, Nov. 1, 2010 — "Leadership presence is no longer just a size equation," says Anett Grant. A look at the global landscape of today's country leaders makes this point obvious. While Stephen Harper, Prime Minister of Canada, and Barack Obama, President of the United States, stand over six feet, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev is 5'3" and French President Nicolas Sarkozy is 5'5".
"What really drives leadership presence is the ability to command attention," says Grant, "and in today's global visual environment, actions are more compelling than words."
So what are the keys to helping business executives project leadership presence on the global stage?
One of the keys to establishing global leadership presence is to demonstrate conviction. "You demonstrate conviction," says Grant, "when you become fully engaged with your communication — not worrying about what you just said or editing your word choice or worrying about what your audience is thinking — you are in the moment. As the normal rate of speaking is 200 to 250 words per minute, speaking is just as intense as driving down a freeway at 200 miles per hour. You have to keep your focus exactly on what you're doing. Mental lapses in racing cause crashes," says Grant. "Mental lapses in speaking cause huge losses of leadership presence."
Another key to establishing global leadership presence is range of facial expressions. To command attention in today's visually saturated environment, executives need to share spontaneous facial expressions that connect with the messages.
"Speakers can have many types of facial expressions," says Grant. "Some expressions like smiling or nodding may be connected with the speaker's desire for approval or response. Some expressions such as frowning may reflect feelings that speakers have about what they should have said or what they really can't say. Some expressions seem frozen and reflect the speaker's disconnection.
"To produce authentic spontaneous facial expressions, speakers need to get beyond the words and focus on the meaning and concepts they are striving to communicate. As the speaker engages with the meaning, the speaker's expressions naturally emerge and relax, and the audience's attention remains focused and connected."
Another key to establishing global leadership presence is using symbolic gestures that connect with the speaker's concept, not the speaker's words. "When speakers use gestures that illustrate concepts," says Grant, "they move symbolically creating an image in space that becomes real for the audience. Like a mime who creates the image of walking up stairs through deliberate gestures, executives can create images of the ratio between sales increases and product innovations. Speakers who translate concepts into symbolic gestures create powerful connections with their audiences and create powerful perceptions of their leadership presence."
"Fundamentally, in order to develop global leadership presence, executives have to take a dimensional approach," says Grant. "Executives need to enter into the age of 3D, commanding attention by being more genuine, more personal — more compelling."
Anett D. Grant is one of the premier global speaking coaches in the world. She brings over three decades of experience helping executives from multinational corporations project leadership presence to Boards of Directors, governments, industry groups, and cross-cultural teams.
Her clients include senior executives from PepsiCo International, Inc., The Coca-Cola Company, Novartis Corporation, General Electric Company, Motorola, Inc., SABMiller, DHL International, SABIC, Rolls Royce Motor Cars, Limited, Rio Tinto Limited, Bayer AG, Colgate-Palmolive Company, Dairy Farm International Holdings Limited, Ford Motor Company, Cargill, Inc., Societe Generale, Corporate and Investment Banking.
For more information, go to http://www.executivespeaking.net/, call 612-338-5748, or email Anett at Email.
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